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September 25, 2013

Intense Flare-Ups In Supermassive Black Holes

A team of researchers led by the University of Sydney says the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, erupted 2 million years ago with 100 times the power it has today. They say the eruption explains the odd glow from the Magellanic Stream that trails behind our galaxy’s two companion galaxies, the large and small Magellanic Clouds, and two huge bubbles of hot gas coming from Sagittarius A* discovered by NASA’s Fermi satellite. They both have matching energies, which indicate an explosion two million years ago. They say this find is exciting because it confirms that black holes can flicker, or switch on and off, in short periods of time.